The annoyance we feel when faced with noise is the most common outward symptom of the
stress building up inside us. Indeed, because irritability is so apparent, legislators
have made public annoyance the basis of many noise abatement programs. The more subtle
and more serious health hazards associated with stress caused by noise traditionally have
been given much less attention. Nonetheless, when we are annoyed or made irritable by
noise, we should consider these symptoms fair warning that other things may be happening
to us....